JPG image, shot in B&W using my “Fuji Acros” in-camera settings and Bridge CS3 preset of the same name…  (One click!)

So, we had a bit of a “staycation” this year, and visited the Long Beach Aquarium last weekend.  I really enjoy aquariums, just because I love animals and the outdoors, but getting new and unique images each time you go is becoming quite a task…  So I tried a few new things.  I tried using a polarizer, in low light, to reduce glass / water reflections.  Then I tried using slower shutter speeds in artistic ways.  And I also practiced anticpating, chasing, and capturing moments of “serendipity…”

=Matt=

(PS-  If anyone has any questions about an image, just ask!  The basics: Nikon D300 & 17-55, JPG capture with Kelvin WB, and pretty much “SOOC” images…)

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One thing that the Facebook group “Photog Shootout” is really trying to promote is the impromptu, casual get-together.  Have a random afternoon / evening free, and so do a couple other photographer pals?  Maybe have a friend who is always up for modeling?

I had zero access to these kinds of friends just a few years ago.  The internet has been an amazing thing for me, connecting me with so many like-minded photographers, and people willing to get in front of the camera, it’s just awesome!

I firmly believe that 99% of getting good at photography is, thanks to the digital revolution, just a matter of dedicated practice.  Getting out there regularly, shooting, critiquing your own work, and demanding better from yourself next time.  You just can’t become great soley by attending one $1000 workshop each year.  It’s all about practice, practice, practice!

So while our big, exciting shoot-togethers have been, well, exciting, I’m even more excited (possibly) about the smaller connections and friendships that should spawn from these bigger events.  Two or three or four people connect, click, and then maybe a few weeks later they decide they wanna go out and shoot again, and they can’t wait until the next official GTG so they plan their own little event!  That’s awesome! 

Sunday afternoon my friend Hanssie and I got together at The Lab in Costa Mesa for just this kind of photo shoot.  Sometimes I like open-ended photo shoots that anyone is welcome to drop in on, and sometimes I like private / one-on-one sessions.  This time, I really needed an opportunity to play around with light, try some things I had never done before, and relax too.

Well I dunno if we managed to relax; tackling weird light is not condusive to relaxation as it turns out.  But at least we tackled some weird light!

Take care,
=Matt=

(Bouncing normal flash off a very red wall.  White balance was set to about 4000 Kelvin, which is almost indoor WB…)

(I wanted to get this shot with David leaning against the doors, looking in.  But my flash was just spilling all over the place.  Yuck.)

(…So, I made a “snoot” out of a random newspaper insert and the rubber band from a Lightsphere.  VERY directional light!)

(Hmm.  Better, but still a reflection on the wood.  Good experiment though!)

(More experimenting.  White balance set to something like 3500 Kelvin, which is about right for the ambient light.
I left my color gel at home, however, so my flash turned out super blue.  Love it?  Hate it?  It’s just an experiment!)

(100% ambient light, just experimenting with moving around to influence brightness.  WB set to 2750 Kelvin and +18 on the Tint)

One of THE BIGGEST keys to reducing the number of hours you spend in front of the camera is to simply get it right the first time.

When I first started out, I used to think to myself “yeah, getting a good exposure is fine and dandy, but who has the time to try and make sure EVERY single one of their images has good white balance, contrast, saturation, etc. etc.???”  For the longest time, I shot RAW and NEVER touched my white balance until after the fact.  And I spent WEEKS editing just a few hundred photos…  I tried shooting JPG, but since I wasn’t getting any better at the in-camera stuff, that didn’t solve the problem.

Long story short, I’ve spent years shooting *both* RAW and JPG alike, and I’ve decided that it really doesn’t matter THAT much if you shoot RAW or JPG, as long as you figure out what the heck you’re doing!

It would be crazy to think that some day we could reach a point when EVERY image we took was perfect right out of the camera, but I just wanted to share a few random, recent images…

First up we have Karin, a model I’ve had the pleasure of photographing a few times now at some of the “Photog Shootout” GTG’s in the past few months.  If we’re NICE, she’ll be at the workflowshop for us to practice on.

=Matt=

(The RAW file, with all adjustments at zero)

(My RAW defaults, with zero editing.  Possibly a bit over the top, but I have a secondary preset with slightly lesser settings too…)

(Another RAW file with my preset, automatic defaults…)

(A JPG image with zero editing.  In-camera settings )

(JPG image with zero editing)

(JPG image with zero editing)

I just wanted to post a couple photos really quick from the last-minute photo shoot this evening with a couple friends here in Irvine.  The sunset was perfect, and a couple shots turned out amazingly…  Enjoy!

Camera Info:
All shots taken with a D300 and either a Nikon 17-55 w/ polarizer, or a Sigma 50-150.

Strobist Info:
My SB800 is on the fritz, so I can’t really use it above 1/16 or 1/32 power.  So lately I’ve been putting it in SU-4 mode, (optical slave, no IR and no radio)  …and just working with it manually at one of those power settings.  These shots were un-diffused, with the pop-up flash fired in manual mode at a low power so as not to influence the photo.  In retrospect though, for the third shot I could have used some fill on the right side of her face.  Coulda used the pop-up for that, but I’d rather use the excuse to buy more SB800′s, asap.

Thanks to Kevin and Mark and Chelsea for coming out!  I had a blast shooting with you today…

=Matt= 

(Chelsea moved out of the photo after I popped the flash.  This was a ten second exposure and I just popped the
  flash manually, and guessed at the power.  I used the guide number / distance readout on the SB800 to cheat.
If you input your aperture and ISO on your flash, it will automatically tell you the distance for a good exposure.)

(For this shot I turned the pop-up flash up a coupe EV, and then used my hand as a barn door / snoot
to sorta place emphasis on her face.  I REALLY shoulda snoot’ed the backlight flash, too, but oh well!)

This wedding at Rancho Capistrano was awesome.  I’m so glad the bride and groom insisted on having me as their photographer!

I’m not very good with words, so I won’t even try to write about how wonderful, how tear-jerking this couple’s “love story” was.  There,  just put “love story in quotes, and I don’t even know why.  I’ll stop talking / typing now, and present the images. 

=Matt=

(Spot Metering, Aperture Priority, Auto WB, RAW)

(Spot Metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Kelvin WB, RAW)

(Spot Metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Kelvin WB, RAW)

(Center-Weighted metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Auto WB, RAW)

(Center-Weighted Metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Kelvin WB, RAW)

(Spot Metering, Manual Exposure, Auto WB, RAW, on-camera SB800 bounced on left-hand wall + ceiling)

(Spot Metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Kelvin WB, JPG)

(Center-Weighted Metering, Aperture Priority Exposure, Kelvin WB, JPG)

(Center-Weighted Metering, Manual Exposure, Kelvin WB, RAW, Tripod)
(f/8, 30 sec, ISO 100)

(I’ve decided to list just the IMPORTANT image data.  The camera and lenses don’t matter that much!)

My website front page gallery, now hosted by Showit Sites, is looking pretty slick.  I created it from scratch using Showit Site’s photoshop-esque web design application, and slowly evolved it to represent what I think my “brand” should be.  Let me know what you think!

www.matthewsaville.com

Take care!
=Matt=

(Blogging four days in a row, wow!)

Have you ever come home from a photo shoot and not even had enough room on your computer to download your new photos?  NOT GOOD!  I’ve been there, and that is a CODE RED situation that any experienced photographer should never encounter.

While we’re telling stories, once or twice I’ve literally fallen asleep at my computer and dreamed about editing photos, only to wake up and find that nope, nothing got done.  That’s probably the scarier nightmare, but equally alarming is the opposite-  I’ve also woken up in the morning and photos have edited themselves without me remembering it at all!

But those are just the funny, slightly scary facts about my history as a photographer struggling to stay on top of the thousands of photos he takes every year….   The REALITY is very serious.  You come really close to burning out, living that kind of life.    I can vividly remember just LOATHING photoshop, and the pile of photos I needed to edit before I could go to sleep.  I felt like I had no social life whatsoever, (hey, no comments from the peanut gallery, okay?) …and I felt like I couldn’t possibly catch up.

Hopefully most people don’t let it get that serious before they tackle workflow.  But I think you know who you are.  The ones who shoot thousands of photos each month, or each week.  (I shoot and sort out an average of 2,000-3,000 photos EVERY WEEK!)  You might be an amateur / hobbyist photographers who just has a passion for shooting, or you might be professionals or aspiring professionals who has just gotten into wedding / portrait photography and are already buried with your first few jobs…  Either way, I want to help you get your life back.

The WORKFLOWSHOP is going to cover everything from in-camera capture, (getting good photos in the first place = 50%+ of the battle!) …memory cards and downloading, backup and storage systems,  sorting, editing, (doesn’t matter if you use Bridge, Lightroom, or Aperture!) and uploading / blogging / printing / selling & profiting…

I also want to admit / caveat / disclaim that I am no saint.  I have not achieved “workflow nirvana”.  I can still get behind on my personal photography, and sometimes friends pester me to get photos I took.  HOWEVER, I at least have the tools to tackle those problems easily, without stress, without getting burnt out.  I don’t loathe photoshop anymore.  And I have free time to be with my WIFE, or go shoot random photos with my friends….guilt-free!

And while we’re disclaiming things, I’ll also mention:  I don’t discriminate between silly things like Nikon or Canon, RAW or JPG, Mac or PC.  Yes, I’m highly opinionated, but my *highest* opinion is that people should do whatever works for them.

Anyways, here’s the web page where you can get the full spiel:

www.matthewsaville.com/workflowshop

The first ten seats are $225 each, but those aren’t going to last much longer since the 1st date is August 30th.  Then seats 11-20 are going to be $275.  (Quite honestly, I like a classroom of TEN.  I’m just offering 20 seats in case some people feel they MUST get a jump on their workflow, asap.  I know that some people are probably already buried up to their neck in this summer’s jobs, events, photo shoots, etc…)

Anyways, I guess I’m done plugging this now.  Normal blogging will resume tomorrow.

Take care!
=Matt=

By the way, THIS VIDEO is an example of taking WAY too long to edit a photo, in case you didn’t figure that out.  The video is sped up 2x or 3x, which means I actually spent 2-3 minutes editing this ONE image.  Good grief!  I made the video two or three years ago, just because I really liked the image and the transformation was indeed dramatic, from start to finish.  But what I want to teach people is, how to make their images look almost like that final image right out of the camera, and barely require 5-10 seconds of a glance to be “deliverable” in Bridge / Lightroom / Aperture…  Sound good?

The DAY BEFORE our massive, 50-person SoCal Photog Shootout, the [b] school had it’s own bimonthly get-together, known as Joe Photo’s Day Trip…

And by bimonthly, I mean every two months, not twice a month.  I looked up the word, thinking that there would be two different words for the clearly different situations, but no, bimonthly means both, one or the other.  What gives, people?  We have this ridiculously complicated language, with crazy words like verbose, loquacious, and logorrheic that all mean practically the SAME thing.   Oh well.  I’m over it.  Sort of.

Anyways.  Pictures!

Hanssie and Becker, two wedding photograhper friends of mine…  I think she just gave him a thank-you gift of some kind…

Michelle, sporting her henna “tattoo”

I do believe that is Joe Photo in the background…

Next up, I’ll blog, uh, I dunno I’ll look and see what evnent came before this one.  Probably a wedding in South Orange County, I think…

=Matt=

Still going backwards in time…  Skipping a couple private jobs that I won’t be blogging, we come to an AMAZING event that I was so honored to be a part of.

A 50 photographer shootout in San Juan Capistrano.  We shot models, we shot each other.  I shot Jasmine Star!

No, we didn’t kill anyone.  Nobody got hurt.  Just cameras!

I’ll blog a few more photos soon, but I couldn’t wait to blog just these few favorites…

=Matt=